[More in the cross-post on the MRC's NewsBusters blog.]
On the 19 August 2014 edition of This Hour, Michaela Pereira endorsed guest L. Z. Granderson's take on the media's extensive coverage of the ongoing turmoil in Ferguson, Missouri in the wake of the shooting death of Michael Brown. The liberal commentator pointed out that "this past weekend, we had over 30 people shot – seven of them died – in the neighborhoods in Chicago – many of them black and brown. None of that was covered."
Pereira replied to Granderson by asserting that "because of Ferguson, Chicago is sort of taking a back seat in the headlines. And Chicago's a very concerning thing, and we need to keep watching. We need to keep addressing what's going on there." One wonders if the anchor will criticize her own network, as CNN has only mentioned the violence in the Windy City twice over the past week. Back on the August 13, 2014 edition of The Lead, Jake Tapper cited a recent column by Jesse Jackson:
JAKE TAPPER (to Jesse Jackson): In the same op-ed, you also write – quote, 'Michael Brown has joined a long line of blacks, especially black males, who have recently been killed by white men and/or white police officers, who claim 'reasonable fear' or 'self-defense.' Chicago has experienced a rash of young blacks in gangs killing each other over 'territory' or in 'retaliation,' so it's not just whites killing young black males' – unquote.